圍屋是贛、粵、閩邊區(qū)客家人居住的主要建筑形式，它集家、祠、堡于一體，集建筑與美學(xué)于一體，是客家人在贛南定居生活與活動的“化石”，特別是贛南的龍南縣，因圍屋數(shù)量最多、保存最完整而成為贛南“圍都”。

“圍都”聲名鵲起

圍屋是客家先民們?yōu)槲覀兞粝聦氋F的文化遺產(chǎn)。晉末之亂，中原人舉族遷徙，之后每次朝代更迭，戰(zhàn)火烽煙，更引發(fā)了大量中原人南遷。這些南遷的中原人先是進(jìn)入鄱陽湖一帶，爾后溯贛江而上，往大山屏蔽的贛南、粵北、閩西遷徙和定居。

進(jìn)入贛粵閩山區(qū)的中原人，被 當(dāng)?shù)赝林?、瑤人視為客人，客家人之稱由此而來?？图胰嗽谂c畬、瑤人融合的過程中，相互吸收不同的生活習(xí)慣和風(fēng)俗，生活是安定的。但到了明清時期，社會再次動蕩 ，贛、粵、閩邊區(qū)民不聊生，于是山民聚眾為“匪”者不少。在這一歷史背景下，有著防御功能的客家人的圍屋、圍攏屋、土樓便應(yīng)運(yùn)而生。

龍南與廣東為鄰，“匪”盛至極，因而圍屋也多如牛毛，圍屋一時成了客家人的普遍民居形式。時光過去500余年，如今龍南一縣仍殘留370余座圍屋，那圍屋規(guī)模之大、風(fēng)格之特別、保存之完好為全國罕見。2003年，龍南“客家圍屋”入選為“贛南現(xiàn)代十景”，同年，龍南縣的關(guān)西新圍、燕翼圍被列為國家重點文物保護(hù)單位。2001年2月，中央電視臺東方時空欄目以“客家人的圍屋”為題向全世界展示了圍屋風(fēng)貌，使得歷經(jīng)了390年歲月滄桑的贛南圍屋一下子聲名鵲起。

贛南圍屋大至上萬平方米，內(nèi)可居數(shù)百人，如龍南武當(dāng)鎮(zhèn)的田心圍，最多時曾住過900多人，然而小的圍屋如龍南縣里仁鄉(xiāng)的貓柜圍，圍內(nèi)僅住一戶人家。

贛南圍屋主要建于明清時期，現(xiàn)存最早的兩座圍屋是龍南烏石村的盤石圍(約建于明萬歷年間)和楊村的燕翼圍(建于清順治五年)，日本東京藝術(shù)大學(xué)建筑系主任、著名學(xué)者片山和俊教授考察贛南圍屋后說：“贛南圍屋的構(gòu)造并不復(fù)雜，但它的大尺度、大空間、大容量，將居住、城堡、宗教信仰、議事廳和中心廣場功能集于一體，如此宏偉多功能的民居為世之罕見，令人震撼!”是的，看了圍屋就像讀了一本建筑教科書，人們從中可以學(xué)到很多知識和得到許多啟發(fā)，這種感覺猶如日本人初看古羅馬建筑一樣，許多日本學(xué)者認(rèn)為“贛南圍屋是東方的羅馬”。

最富傳奇色彩的圍屋

方今龍南境內(nèi)最富傳奇色彩的圍屋，是關(guān)西鎮(zhèn)新圍村的關(guān)西新圍。在這座碩大的圍屋里，大院風(fēng)水壁照上花團(tuán)錦簇的畫已經(jīng)剝落殆盡，但大院前的兩對石獅，氣勢十分了得：那雄獅英姿勃發(fā)，一副氣吞河山的氣勢；雌獅則閉合著嘴，一派溫柔祥和神態(tài)，特別是雌獅身上附著的兩只小獅子，更是寄寓意著主人敬重的兩位小夫人的一片情意。

傳說新圍屋的主人名叫徐名均(因排行老四，又稱徐老四)，他年輕時便從事木竹販運(yùn)生意，經(jīng)商致富后便成了個逍遙之人，鉆進(jìn)了蘇州、揚(yáng)州等地的花花世界。等到錢財散盡，他便帶了兩位張氏女子回家作二房、三房，過起了平淡日子。后來，兩位小夫人竭力勸他重新振作，并以平生積蓄予以資助，受兩位小夫人鼓勵，徐名均又做起了木排生意。開始，生意做得并不太好，后來卻發(fā)生了一次奇遇：一日，他從贛州啟程時有位青年公子欲搭便船下南昌，但眾船家不愿意，只有徐名均天性豪爽，一口應(yīng)允。此后幾日酒肉款待，兩人交談甚歡。不日到達(dá)洪城，公子告別，稍后卻有轎來請徐名均到巡撫處作客。到得府里，才知乘自己商船者乃是巡撫之子。因為老四旅途中熱情款待公子，巡撫甚為感激，敘談中問到有什么需要幫助，老四說：“木排生意中沿途關(guān)卡稅收太多，有些煩惱?！毖矒崴尖馄?，寫一道官文，允老四的“西昌號”木排在江西境內(nèi)水域三年內(nèi)免收銀稅，任意方便。從此老四生意如魚得水，呼風(fēng)有風(fēng)，喚雨有雨，一時間許多排販紛紛依附老四，搭靠“西昌號”做生意，老四因而大發(fā)其財。一年春季，上千條木排在贛江遇洪水散了架，根本無法分清貨主是誰，結(jié)果全部木材歸了徐老四，老四一夜暴富，平白多賺了十?dāng)?shù)萬兩銀子。中國農(nóng)民有錢就蓋房，這是祖宗留下的規(guī)矩，于是老四動用百萬巨資，耗時十余載終于建成了這占地一萬多平方米、高十多米、厚一米的長方形圍屋，這是嘉慶、道光年間在龍南轟動一時的事。

為了感謝兩位小夫人的鼓勵，老四不動聲色地在院子前的母獅上做了些布置，于是便出現(xiàn)了大小三只母獅共瞻天下的情形。今天，新圍西門外小花洲地面上遺留的荷池、假山石等痕跡，仍讓人一眼就看出，它的本來面目該是一座何等典雅的蘇州園林呀?!

關(guān)西新圍，是典型的客家民居，整個建筑五組并列，前后三進(jìn)，十四個天井，正中祠堂，對稱分置十八廳，客家人傳頌的“九幢十八廳”在這里生動地得到了驗證。

尋求新的輝煌

與關(guān)西新圍共同成為國家重點文物保護(hù)單位的楊村鎮(zhèn)的燕翼圍，也是座不同凡響的圍屋。

燕翼圍自公元1650年始建以來，以其高大、堅固、防御功能強(qiáng)之特點名聞天下，如今成為海內(nèi)外客家人和專家學(xué)者必到之地。燕翼圍呈方形，高15米，長12米，寬32米，面積1368米，房間136間，一層為膳食處，二、三層為居住處，四層為戰(zhàn)樓，有58個射擊口。圍門有三層，門口有一生活用井，圍內(nèi)有二口暗井，一為水井，一為糧庫井，平時以土埋之。此圍屋因高大易守，因而有“高守圍”別稱。上世紀(jì)40年代，時任江西第四行政公署專員的蔣經(jīng)國曾在此圍住過三日。

在圍屋繞廊行走，尋覓往昔的輝煌，可惜古物早已蕩然無存，但是被煙火染得烏黑的窗欞、木柱仍在向人們訴說當(dāng)年人們生活在這里的情景，那推磨用的龍頭、清朝的睡床仍然靜靜地躺在柴屋里。

如今，對楊村人來說，客家圍屋或客家建筑及其傳說，是給外人看、外人聽的，數(shù)百年來，這里簡單的生活方式已經(jīng)令他們的心情平靜如水，不再有所觸動。他們每天都見到許多探尋者，無論你抱著怎樣的目的、懷著怎樣的熱望來看圍屋，無論你現(xiàn)在給這里帶來幾多喧囂與熱鬧或回去花費(fèi)幾多筆墨去大書特書這里的神秘與美麗，這里的人一概波紋不興，一點也引不起激動，因為古老的圍屋與客家文化隨著歲月流逝而日漸老朽了，他們世代居住在這里，再也不感到有什么特別之處了!

好在如今燕翼圍的人有許多已經(jīng)覺醒：祖先的榮耀不屬于今人，今人的榮耀還得自己創(chuàng)造。于是這兒也涌現(xiàn)了眾多經(jīng)商致富的聰明人，今天，這里有一兩萬人走出了圍屋，涌往廣東、浙江、福建等開放地區(qū)打工、做生意，更有無數(shù)的后生在家鄉(xiāng)創(chuàng)業(yè)，據(jù)說，百萬以上家產(chǎn)的人家已有好幾十戶了!

(本文攝影龔映華)

Circular Houses in Southern Jiangxi

By Gong Wenrui

The circular houses in southern Jiangxi were first built by immigrants known as Hakka people， who were actually refugees fleeing from wars and natural disasters in the central China as early as the last years of the Jin Dynasty (317-420).

It was a big wave of migration in the Chinese history. Refugees fleeing southward from the central China never ceased in history especially when a dying dynasty was in the throes. According to experts， the first wave of these refugees reached the Boyang Lake， and then gradually spread southward to southern Jiangxi， northern Fujian and Guangdong Provinces.

The circular houses reflect the life these immigrants led then. A circular house served as an independent community where families lived together with an ancestral memorial temple built in the center. A circular house had a high and thick rammed earth wall and stood as a fortress against invaders.

The circular houses seen today in southern Jiangxi Province were mostly built in the last years of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the early years of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). In Longnan， a county on the border between Jiangxi and Guangdong Provinces， there are more than 370 circular houses. Some of these are magnificent and placed under national protection. China Central Television has produced a documentary on the circular houses in Jiangxi.

The most legendary circular house in Longnan County is the Xinwei House in Guanxi Township. The giant circular house occupies an area of more than 10，000 square meters with its external wall more than 10 meters in height and 1 meter in thickness.

Legend has it that it was built by a man called Xu Mingjun. A trader engaged in transporting timber and bamboo bundled in rafts on the Gan River， Xu made a fortune when he was young. He led a life of luxury and debauchery in Suzhou and Yangzhou， reputed as a world of sensual pleasures in ancient China. After the fortune was gone， he came back home in Longnan County with two young wives. He built a small house and led an ordinary life with the two wives. But the two women later prompted him to engage in the former trade again. So he came back to the river. One day， a young man wanted to take a boat trip down to Nanchang， the capital city of Jiangxi Province. But it happened that no one was willing to take him. When Xu heard of this， he offered his help. They hit it off pretty soon. On the trip， Xu entertained the young man with wine and meat and the two chatted happily. When the young man reached the destination， Xu thought he would not see him again. To Xu’s great surprise， the young man turned out to be a high-ranking official in the city. Later he sent a sedan chair over and asked Xu to visit him at his official residence. Thus Xu became well known because of this legendary encounter. Many in the trade began to partner with him. Xu began to prosper again by charging fees from people who used the title of his firm. One spring， he hit business bonanza when a huge flood turned loose thousands of rafts of timber and bamboo on the Gan River. It was impossible to determine who owned the loose timber and bamboo poles. Xu managed to salvage them all. After selling the godsend and making a huge fortune overnight， Xu wanted to have a big house built. He spent more than a million on the ambitious project and it took more than 10 years to complete the construction work. The giant affair is a typical Hakka residence. It has five rows of houses inside， with 14 patios in three rows， with a family memorial temple in the center. And there are 18 halls in a symmetrical arrangement. The house is now under national protection.

Another big fortress-styled house in the county is the Swallow Wing House of Yangcun Town. It is now under national protection. The construction work began in 1650 in the Qing Dynasty. The house is well known for its sturdy structure as a fortress. In the shape of a square， it stands at 15 meters in height， 12 meters in length and 32 meters in width. The house has 136 rooms in four stories. The ground floor was where residents cooked and ate. The second and third floors were living quarters. The forth floor was the military stronghold with 58 shooting positions. The house has three strong doors. Inside the house there are three wells.

These big communal houses attract curious tourists who travel all the way from all over the world to see the amazing architectures in the county. The Hakka houses symbolize a way of life， a self-contained world in the long forgotten past. However， residents there have long been aware that they should not live on their ancestors’ past glory and that they should create something new of their own.

(Translated by David)